7 Flowering Native Retention Pond Plants that grow on rip-rap embankments in Wichita Kansas

 

#1 Buttonbush

Cephalanthus Occidentalis

Pros: Attracts All Butterflies

Cons: None

The buttonbush is the most interesting plant on our list of native retention pond plants! Buttonbush is a flowering shrub! With attractive dark foliage! It grows to the shape of a wide, 5-foot tall pincushion, producing fragrant pinwheel flowers throughout the summer.  Move over, Rose Milkweed! Buttonbush is abuzz with ALL the butterflies! This butterfly sanctuary shrub wins First Place among the Flowering Native Retention Pond Plants!

This plant tolerates many floods and can also grow either marginal or emergent, from several inches of water. The buttonbush needs no special care: it thrives on neglect. With several garden cultivars (i.e. Boulevardia) in the trade, common buttonbush is highly attractive to both people and butterflies. To make it more interesting, bees and fish also visit the buttonbush. The dense fibrous roots on this shrub is excellent for erosion control, even in sand.

In Sedgwick County, Kansas, Buttonbush mature to reach a height of 8-10 feet, and may be cut down in the spring to reshapen summer growth. Alternatively, your mature buttonbush will develop a trunk with scaly bark, and may be pruned similarly to a small redbud tree.